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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27495673">Morning Meditation</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/H0locene/pseuds/H0locene'>H0locene</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Avatar: Legend of Korra</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/F, Fluff, Kyalin Week 2020, Sibling Love</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-11-10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-11-10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 22:02:28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,096</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27495673</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/H0locene/pseuds/H0locene</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Kyalin week day 2: Supportive siblings</p><p>“We started seeing each other last time I was in the city. So probably seven months ago or so, now,” she breaks the silence. Tenzin’s posture slumps slightly as he releases his body from the pose with a rush of air. He turns to look at her, feeling annoyed. She knows the rules; no talking during meditation. But then he sees the small smile on her face she’s trying to stifle, and bites back a sigh. Apparently they’re doing this.</p><p>Just some cloudkid bonding for Kyalin week.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Kya II &amp; Tenzin (Avatar), Lin Beifong/Kya II</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>38</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>167</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>KyaLin Week 2020</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Morning Meditation</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Stifling a yawn, Tenzin reaches out into a stretch, grimacing as he hears several pops from his aging bones.</p><p>It’s just before the dawn, the sky still dusky. The island is quiet as he tucks the blanket around Pema and leaves his room silently.</p><p>This is his favourite time of day. Every morning as a boy, he and his father would wake to meditate as the sun rose. He’d always loved the feeling of warmth as it slowly began to creep across his face. Moments where the only sound was the waves lapping against the shore as the wildlife began to wake. The air starting to fill with hums and chirps from birds, rustling grass and leaves as the island’s animals began to go about their day.</p><p>Though he loves it, there is always a part of him that fills with wistfulness and longing at these moments in the morning. He carries the grief of missing his father with him every day; each time he catches a glimpse of his reflection, each time he enters his office, with each new airbending skill his children (and lately, his older brother) achieve.</p><p>But it’s these mornings that make him notice the most. There is no heat radiating from the body beside him, no faint interjection of breath next to him, and for a moment, he feels very alone.</p><p>When Jinora is home, she will join him on these mornings. It is not quite the same, but he loves those days dearly nonetheless. Other times, on the rare occasions she rises early enough, he will find Ikki waiting for him on the grass verge overlooking the water. Jinora is on the other side of the Earth Kingdom, recruiting some new airbenders they recently received news about. And Ikki, poor Ikki, has been taken with a cold.</p><p>On his way out of his family’s quarters, Tenzin pops his head into Ikki’s room. Thankfully, she is sleeping peacefully, and it looks like her fever has abated. Tenzin quietly refills her water and strokes back the messy strands of hair upon her forehead before pressing a kiss to the newly revealed skin there. For a moment, he guiltily thinks she might wake, as her eyelids flicker and her mouth scrunches. Instead, she makes a small noise at the back of her throat and rolls over. Tenzin pulls the blankets up higher around her shoulders and exits quietly.</p><p>There is one other person who will accompany him for his morning meditation, on occasion. Particularly on the nights of a full moon, it seems like Kya hardly ever sleeps. Sometimes Tenzin thinks she is still awake from the night before. But she happily accompanies him in his morning routine when she sees him walking to his spot. Sometimes, she might even meet him there. He and Kya have not always had the best of relationships, but they have always been able to put that aside for this one ritual. Kya used to meditate with Tenzin and Aang regularly, although she left to explore the world shortly after Tenzin turned sixteen. When she meditates with him now, he senses she joins him out of a sense of familiarity, as well as trying to feel close to their father once more.</p><p>Kya’s boat docked early yesterday morning, and she spent much of the previous day with Meelo and Rohan, or sitting with Ikki and healing her fever. She had retired early, claiming she was tired from the journey. Tenzin reasons that maybe she would be awake at this hour, having turned in so early.</p><p>He redirects his path and begins walking towards her room. Perhaps she’d like to join him this morning.</p><p>As Tenzin turns the corner, he sees someone sliding shut the door to Kya’s room, and for a moment, he is pleased - he will have company after all.</p><p>But then his eyes focus on the person who is very much not Kya. Who is very much familiar.</p><p>The woman freezes. Tenzin does too.</p><p>He watches as a myriad of emotion crosses her face. Hesitation, panic, fear, embarrassment, anger, guilt, and finally, resignation. Tenzin opens his mouth, ready to question her presence at such an hour, but Lin levels him with a glare, and proceeds to leave in a brisk walk that looks a lot more hasty than he imagines she intended.</p><p><em> " </em> <em> Lin! </em>”</p><p>Kya’s head pops out of the door, quickly followed by her hand. From her hand dangles- <em> oh! </em>Tenzin quickly turns his head and coughs, feeling heat begin to crawl up his cheeks.</p><p>“Ten?” Kya asks bemusedly. Her voice is rough and low with sleep.</p><p>“I-uh- good morning Kya,” Tenzin stumbles through his words, still refusing to look at his sister. He hears as Lin hurried back over, and the sound of the offending garment being pulled from his sister’s fingers reaches his ears. He tries not to hear the quiet conversation between his sister and his ex.</p><p>“Thank you,” Lin murmurs, a huff of embarrassment in her tone.</p><p>“You’re welcome,” Kya’s amusement rings through her words. “Dinner at 8. If you're late, I'll just pick your lock.”</p><p>Lin splutters in protest, and Kya laughs gently. There’s a moment of silence, followed by the soft sound of lips parting, and the click of Lin’s metal-soled shoes fading once more.</p><p>“You can turn around now, Tenzin,” Kya says dryly. He immediately turns to face her, and catches the tail end of her eye roll.</p><p>“I was- was coming to see if you’d like to join me this morning. I wasn’t expecting that you’d, uh, have... company.”</p><p>Tenzin talks to the wall beside Kya’s head, still not quite able to look her in the eye. It is still only her head peeking around the door, and Tenzin resolutely does <em> not </em> want to think about why that is.</p><p>“What can I say?” Kya’s tone is even, almost defensive. “I haven’t been back in a while. Give me a minute and I’ll be out.”</p><p>Tenzin nods, and Kya disappears into her room once more.</p><p><em>Kya</em> and <em>Lin</em>? How long had this been happening? He knows his sister’s reputation (tries not to think about it), and he’s heard rumour of Lin’s since their breakup (he tries to think about it even less). In hindsight, maybe this is something he should’ve seen coming.</p><p>Kya steps out of her room, her hair pulled back into a long, messy braid, wearing a familiar faded green button up shirt that has seen better days and a pair of grey lounge pants that came up an inch too short. They decidedly weren’t her style of clothing.</p><p>They walk to the verge in silence; Tenzin’s unsure of how to broach the subject. It’s not until they’re sat on the verge, looking out on the water, that Kya speaks.</p><p>“Are you uncomfortable?” she asks.</p><p>“No!” Tenzin replies, almost too quickly. He thinks for a moment, as she sends him a wry glance. </p><p>“It’s none of my business, but if it’s making you both happy...” he trails off, shrugging. Kya nods, and looks away again. There’s a long silence. Tenzin supposes that’s the extent of it. He straightens his posture and deepens his breathing. He almost doesn’t hear her speak.</p><p>“We started seeing each other last time I was in the city. So probably seven months ago or so, now,” she breaks the silence. Tenzin’s posture slumps slightly as he releases his body from the pose with a rush of air. He turns to look at her, feeling annoyed. She knows the rules; no talking during meditation. But then he sees the small smile on her face she’s trying to stifle, and bites back a sigh. Apparently they’re doing this.</p><p>“That’s a long time for you,” he notes, without judgement. Kya hums; her relationships don’t normally last longer than a month or two - until she moves on to her next destination. To his knowledge, she hasn’t dated since her break up a year or so after their father’s death.</p><p>“Once I had her...” Kya trails off, her fingers toying with the grass beside her knee. Tenzin waits her out. It’s not often his older sister struggles to find her words. “She’s not like the others, Ten. The others were fun, but they weren’t ever meant to last. Lin is... different,” she sighs, a mix of frustration and embarrassment both. “Spirits, I sound like a teenager!”</p><p>She laughs at herself, rolling her eyes. “It was supposed to be an easy thing. Just stress relief or whatever. But I guess I caught feelings.”</p><p>She draws some water from the dewy grass, and begins to bend shapes into the small glob of water, passing it between her hands. A sign of nervousness she’s subconsciously displayed since childhood. Tenzin frowns. She hardly ever gets nervous discussing her relationships. Usually, she’s more than happy to... <em> over share. </em></p><p>“I missed her, which was... weird. Not in the way I miss you and the kids, or Bum. It was more of a... longing, I guess. So I wrote her, when I was back down South. I wasn’t expecting anything to come of it, but she wrote back.”</p><p>Tenzin nods, a small smile creeping onto his face. He is reminded of a very similar situation, decades ago, where they sat here in this very spot. Their father was away on Avatar business, and Kya was on a brief visit to the city. Tenzin haltingly told her of his feelings for Lin, and she had smiled warmly at him. For once, she didn’t tease him (that came later that day, and for the rest of her stay). She encouraged him to pursue the woman, and it had bolstered his resolve to do just that.</p><p>“I wasn’t supposed to see her until tomorrow, but she surprised me last night. Told me she missed me.”</p><p>There’s a shy smile on Kya’s face now, and a hopeful gleam in her eye. “I haven’t, uh... I haven’t felt this way in years, Ten,” she sighs deeply, as though she’s releasing a great secret. “Not since Yira. And I thought it might go away once I returned, that I was just wanting what I didn’t have,” she draws her knees up to tuck beneath her chin, and wraps her arms around them. Her tone grows frustrated. “And it’s stupid, because I feel like I’ve hardly seen her, or been around her, and yet I think I-“</p><p>Kya catches herself at the last second, and Tenzin watches the uncertainty on her face.</p><p>“I’m too old for this shit,” she sighs roughly, huffing a laugh at herself. Her voice is caught, almost wet, and she sniffs slightly.</p><p>“Anyway, she invited me over tonight. She’s cooking me dinner. I’m going to talk to her then,” Kya finishes, attempting a confident nod.</p><p>Tenzin places a hand on his sister’s shoulder, gives it a light squeeze. “She’d be a fool if she didn’t feel the same,” he offers gently.</p><p>Kya snorts, but it’s still suspiciously wet. “<em> Duh. </em> I’m a <em> catch </em>.”</p><p>Tenzin chuckles, rolls his eyes, and pulls Kya into his side. She comes willingly, tucking her head under his chin.</p><p>“And if she doesn’t?”</p><p>Her voice is so quiet, then. Weary.</p><p>“Then you move on,” he replies simply. “But that won’t be necessary. How long have you had her favourite shirt?” he looks down at Kya’s outfit, and sees a small blush on her cheeks.</p><p>“I stayed over one night last year,” Kya shrugs against him. “Took a liking to it. When I told her I was leaving again, she told me to keep it.”</p><p>Tenzin just gives her a look, humour and knowing dancing in his eyes. “I think it’ll be fine.”</p><p>Kya hums into his shoulder. “I hope you’re right,” she replies.</p><p>The sun has started to rise now, and Kya shifts in his arms so that she can watch its ascent. They don’t meditate, but they spend the rest of the sunrise in comfortable silence.</p>
<hr/><p>Tenzin doesn’t see much of his sister for the next day, and doesn’t see her at all in the days following.</p><p>In fact, it’s a week before he sees his sister again, sneaking into her room, rather than sneaking someone out. A flannel shirt hangs open on her frame, this one a dark blue. The sleeves sit ever so slightly too high above her wrists, and she’s wearing a white tank underneath.</p><p>Tenzin smirks at her, raising an eyebrow. “Dinner went well?”</p><p>Kya blushes, but flashes him a happy grin. “Dinner went great. I’ll meet you down there in five?”</p><p>Tenzin nods, and heads for the verge.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Happy Kyalin week. I hope you enjoyed! This is my first published fic in over a decade aaaaa</p><p>I always see fics where Tenzin is shocked by the relationship and takes a while to come around to it. While I love that interpretation, I think Tenzin is the type who would go out of his way to see his family happy, and would probably not think about his discomfort whilst Kya needs a shoulder to lean on.</p><p>Shoutout to the kyalin discord for inspiring me to actually write a fic.</p><p>Have a nice day :)</p></blockquote></div></div>
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